The Ten Steps to a Balanced Diet

Diet, healthy eating, nutrition, food and drink...call it what you will, it can seem very complicated. There are countless books on the subject, and the worst thing is that some say the complete opposite to others, they're literally chalk and cheese! Although you won't find any cheese in those lactose-free ones of course! 

What makes them all the more confusing of course is that there are lots of stories about how they worked miracles for people. Then there are lots of other stories about how they were terrible for others, and in some cases, dangerous to the extreme. I've spent years fielding questions from clients and PT's in training about whether this diet is any good or if this one is a load of rubbish. And in my world of Personal Training, there's often a blanket response of 'diets don't work' or 'they're a load of rubbish.' 

That's not strictly true though, most diets contain an element of fact or useful advice. Some may take it to the extreme, but the principle on which it is founded is has a grain of truth (unless of course it's wheat free, no grains in there)! OK I'll stop with the bad jokes now.

Years ago, I decided that if I was going to try to decode the fact from the fiction, there were two key things I needed to do:

1) Know the science - study the research, stay on top of the latest journal articles and news and come out armed with the best ideas at the time. It'll never be right or wrong as nutrition is so individual, and it'll change over time, but at least I'd know what the consensus thoughts were at any one moment in time.

2) Read all the diet books and information out there! Dr Atkins, Dukan, The Zone, Blood Type, Cambridge, Paleo, 5:2, Weight Watchers, Slimming World, Cabbage Soup, high fat, low-fat, no fat, high carb, no carb, GI, GL, high protein, calorie counting, counting your macros, liquid only, shake plans, you name it, I've read and researched it.

This has done two main things for me; firstly it's allowed me to compare the science to the diets. There's always crossover, something taken from a snippet of science and moulded into a formula for people to follow. `Secondly, it's allowed me to see the commonalities; what are the things that are generally accepted across the board? There's a reason they appear so many times; it's because they're the things that actually work.

Here's an example, albeit not from a diet. I once went into my gym for a workout and they'd installed this miracle device, a treadmill where your lower half is vacuum-packed into a special surround during your workout. Apparently it changed pressure constantly by pumping air in and out of the vacuum and this helped to decrease body fat...amazing! Upon looking at the information on the huge display surrounding the treadmill, it appeared that it was guaranteed to work for me if I paid to use it three times each week for 30-60 minutes (I could walk or run, my choice) and then also ate plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and drank 2 litres of water each day.  Now I am not a Professor of Science but something told me that the guaranteed results might have more to do with the consistency of exercise and the healthy dietary changes encouraged alongside it.

The same is true of diets, we just need to be able to cherry-pick the good bits. That's where the Ten Steps to a Balanced Diet were born. They're the things that science currently says there is good evidence for. 

So what are they?

Put simply, they can be divided into four sections; what, how much, why and when. 

The first steps are all about what you're actually eating, outlining the different types, the affects of these according to the research and which we should focus on or limit.

1) Carbohydrates

2) Fats

3) Proteins

4) Vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other healthy stuff

5) Water

What you'll discover is that, unlike many diets, we don't emphasise the importance of one nutrient over another; rather we focus on getting the right balance for you to meet your goals and needs and recognise that all of them have a vital role to play in a balanced diet that keeps you fit, healthy and happy. There's one other 'what' step in the process:

6) Quality control - here we look at all the things that you might like to limit or reduce in your diet. We don't say cut out because that's often an extreme choice and you must decide what's right for you.

Linking this together, we can then focus on how much you're having of these foods.

7) Quantity control - We look at ways to control portion size, working through a range of approaches to find out what suits you best - calorie-counting, weighing and measuring food or simpler tools for gauging how much you're consuming.

The final three steps take different angles on why you eat the foods you do:

8) Planning and preparation - this step focuses on shopping, ordering food, making lists, preparing food to take to work and making meals in healthier ways.

9) Food and mood - here we delve into the impact of psychology on food; just why do you eat certain things and what can you do to change this.

10) Meal timing - the science on this step is weaker than the others, but that's not to say it can't be helpful. Getting yourself into eating routines can be an effective tool to help you ensure you're eating the right things and in the correct amounts.

The underpinning elements

Generally, I'll show a client the Ten Steps and then we'll work through them in one of two ways:

1) They'll have a clear idea of a step or steps they want and need to work on, so we'll start with just one of these, the one they deem most important.

2) If someone isn't sure, they can work through a short questionnaire for each step to help them determine where they think they want and need to focus. They simply then pick a step and we start from there.

We'll review progress regularly and then continue to work on that step, or move onto another if the time is right, all the time setting measurable targets to ensure they're on course.

Whatever changes we agree the client will make, there's always a checklist to go through before committing to it. These are essentially the foundations of the Ten Steps, the things that underpin them and allow the client to embed them into their lifestyle. You should always consider these things when making dietary alterations if you want to ensure they last. They are:

• Cost - are the changes you're looking to make within the budget you wish?

• Time - can you purchase, prepare and consume these foods within your current average day?

• Taste - are you going to enjoy the foods and want to eat them for a sustained period of time?

• Significant others - will the changes work taking into account the important people in your life?

• Ease - can you source the ingredients you'er considering easily? Is it something that can be adapted when work gets busy or you have holidays?

I hope that just by reading through our Ten Steps to a Balanced Diet, it's helped you to think about where you are and the changes you might wish to make.

Thanks,

Paul

To count calories or not? Here's a balanced view on the subject.

Before we start looking at the pros and cons of calorie counting, we should first take time to understand what a calorie is. It's not just something that makes a food tastier! 

It is in fact a measure of the energy (more specifically heat energy) available in any food, or in fact, anything that contains energy. Coal has an abundance of calories, but I wouldn't suggest using it to fuel your workout. These days we know roughly how many calories you need based on how active you are, your age, gender, bodily build and whether you want to maintain, lose or gain weight.

Technically, the calories we all know and (maybe count) are actually kilocalories. That is, they are the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1 degree Celsius. An actual calorie is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius, 1,000 times smaller than a kilocalorie. 

So when you hear that you need 2,500 calories a day for example, it's actually 2,500 kilocalories, or 2,500,000 (2.5 million) calories daily. No that doesn't mean you're greedy! It's just that food manufacturers simplify to make numbers easier for us to understand, and probably because all those zeros wouldn't fit on the label.

Now we know what they are, let's take a look at some of the pros and cons of counting them.

FOR

• If you spend a little time on the mathematics of it, you can get a pretty good idea of how many calories you need consume each day to reach your goal, whether that's to lose, maintain or gain weight, or to improve exercise performance. Numbers don't fail either. If we use reasonably accurate formulas and can stick to what they say, then over time, the results we want will come.

• It helps us to better control portion sizes. Counting, even for a short time can help us to get a handle on exactly how much we should eat to meet our needs. I know a few people who have incredible calorie knowledge and it helps them to weigh up (almost literally) the portion sizes they require so that they ensure they get what they need without going over the top.

• It helps us make better choices about what to eat. I'll be honest, I've often had little idea of how many calories are in the foods I eat, but in recent times it's been good to become more aware. It's certainly stopped me having quite as many custard creams with my evening cup of decaf tea. Certain foods (often the less healthy choices) are more calorie dense, that is they contain lots of calories in a small amount of food. They're also often lower in fibre, meaning you need to eat more of them before you feel full. Put these together and it's easy to eat way over your calorie needs. Getting to know your numbers can help you to know when to stop.

AGAINST

• It's hard work. It takes a lot of time and effort to remember to log everything and weigh and measure foods so that you're getting accurate readings. This can also be mentally challenging, making food seem less enjoyable and somewhat of a chore.

• It comes with a degree of inaccuracy. Even the most detailed calculations available are based on estimates. The only ways to know exactly how many calories you need are complex and expensive. One is to be tested in a special room that examines the content of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the air as you go about your daily life. These rooms are generally only found in science labs and universities, so it's unlikely many of us will be able to have these tests. Another is to drink a specially altered (and very expensive) water that can be tracked as it passes through your body. Equally, it's almost impossible to assess exactly how many calories we eat on a daily basis - we're bound to forget things and can't weigh and measure all the foods we eat when we're out and about.

• One of the strongest arguments against calorie counting must be that humankind has successfully managed its weight over millennia without food labels and MyFitnessPal to help. The question is of course, how have we done this? There are a few simple things we can focus on which can help us to maintain or lose weight...

1) Learn to listen to your body - the Jedi power of tuning in to what your body is telling you is accessible to all, but its one that appears to be getting forgotten. Spending some time assessing how you feel before you eat may make a bigger difference than you'd think - are you hungry, or are you thirsty, tired, stressed, angry, upset, happy or bored? All of these and more can lead to us reach for food when that's not actually what we need.

2) Make better choices - whilst it's not impossible, it's much harder to gain weight on a diet low in processed foods. Natural foods are higher in fibre and water and so fill us up more quickly.

3) Be active - moving on a daily basis through exercise but also just daily life activities like walking and housework all helps to use calories and balance the scales. You don't have to go back to washing clothes by hand in the local river and then running them through a mangle, but using stairs, making your work commute active, getting out on lunch breaks, making family time active and even standing instead of sitting will over time have a big impact.

SUMMARY

That's it for our balanced view on whether to count calories. The choice of course is, as always, yours to make and should be based on what works best for you.

Have a question? Want to know how to estimate your daily calorie needs or how to know how many calories you're burning? Post it on here and I'll be happy to help.

Stay balanced,

Paul

Water: the stuff of life

As it's the hottest week of the year so far, I thought it might be useful to give you some helpful hints and tips on water and staying hydrated. Hopefully something in here helps you to find your fluid balance.

How much fluid do you need?

Use this calculation to work out your base needs...

• Age: up to 30 = 35-40ml of water per kg body weight (multiply your weight in kg by 0.035 or 0.04)

• Age: 31-54 = 30-35ml of water per kg body weight (multiply your weight in kg by 0.03 or 0.035)

• Age: 55-65 = 30ml of water per kg body weight (multiply your weight in kg by 0.03)

• Age: 65+ = 25ml of water per kg body weight (multiply your weight in kg by 0.025)

So, for example, Bob is 56 years old and weighs 80kg, the calculation he needs to do is:

80kg x 0.03 = 2.4 litres per day

What about exercise?

The more exercise you do the more fluid you'll need. Hard exercise can increase your daily fluid needs by up to a litre for every hour done. Check out the tests later in this article to work out if you're getting the right amount for your needs.

What counts towards my fluid intake?

There's water in your food, so if you're eating a healthy, balanced diet, it's thought that around 20% of your basic water needs are met. So for our example above, Bob would be getting just under half a litre each day through food  and need to drink around 2 litres each day.

Drinks that count towards hydration include:

• Water

• Squash

• Milk

• Fruit juice (this will hydrate you but can be higher in calories so you may want to dilute it with water)

• Fizzy drinks (yep even these hydrate you; again though they'll often be higher in calories so limit the amount you consume)

• Tea and coffee (the vast majority of what's in your mug is water so it serves to hydrate you, outweighing the diuretic effects of the caffeine. If you're sensitive to caffeine you may want to limit the amount of coffee you drink to just a few each day)

• Shandy (yep because there's very little alcohol in here, it can hydrate you. Too much booze though will dehydrate you, so either limit the amount or drink plenty of water at the same time)

How do I check that I'm getting the amount I need?

Every one of us needs a slightly different amount of fluid. Whilst the calculations above are helpful, you'll likely need to make tweaks to how much you drink based on:

• Your genetics

• Your training regime

• Your diet

• The weather

• Illness

• Age, gender, pregnancy, the number of diuretics like alcohol you've been cons,ing, sleep, stress and medication

Because of this, there are some great tests you can do to see if you're getting what you need:

1) How do you feel? Tiredness, dry mouth and skin, headaches, irritability, unusual hunger and aching muscles can all be signs that you're dehydrated. Listen to your body and if you think you're thirsty, drink fluids little and often to help rehydrate yourself.

2) The pee test. Urine should be light or straw-coloured. Darker urine or even only urinating a few times each day suggest you're dehydrated. The NHS suggests that going to the loo less than 3 or 4 times a day is a good sign.

3) For the exercisers out there, weighing yourself before and after training can be a great marker of hydration. Sadly if you've lost three pounds during your workout I'm sorry to say it won't all be fat! Much of it will be water and will mean you need to rehydrate. 

Even just a 1-2% decrease in weight after a workout will mean you are dehydrated and need to replenish your fluids. If not you may feel unwell, tired and your exercise and mental performance can decrease significantly.

Just as an example of how small a weight loss this can be, for me, weighing in at 70kg, even a loss of 0.5-1.5kg (1-3 lbs) after a session means I'm dehydrated. This would likely need me to drink somewhere between 0.5 and 1.5 litres of fluid to replace these losses.

Summary

Drink little and often across the day using any combination of the drinks outlined. Monitor your hydration levels through how you're feeling, your urine colour and your weight post-exercise.

Over time you'll learn the timings and amounts that work for you to maintain your fluid balance.

A balanced guide to snacking

A major cause of weight gain or the solution to creating and maintaining the lean physique and healthy body you desire?

This is a question I often get asked by my clients when I'm working with them to help shift some excess body fat and look a little more toned. Is snacking good for me? Or is the reason I'm gaining weight? Well the answer is, as many of those who've been on one of the course I've taught will tell you..........it depends.

It depends on a whole host of factors. What was it that you snacked on? How many snacks did you have? Were you eating because you were hungry? Or were you tired, angry, upset, bored or just doing it because it's part of a routine? How much did you eat across the rest of the day? How much exercise are you doing at the moment and how active are you in your everyday life?

This is why the science on the subject shows such varied results. Some studies suggest that snacking regularly helps people to lose weight. Other studies show that those who eat more often gain more weight. Some research has shown no difference between three square meals a day or grazing regularly on smaller meals, as long as the calorie intake is equal. Some studies suggest that eating small and often can have a beneficial effect on health measures like choleste4rol and blood sugar levels. But guess what? Others have not.

Finding your balance

When I work with my clients we look at three key areas:

1)    What are you eating? In the balance approach, there’s no such thing as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ foods, just better or worse ones depending on the personal, the situation and the goals. Ask yourself ‘is there something better I could choose most of the time that would help me achieve what I want?’ There often is.

2)    How much are you eating? Alongside food quality, we also consider food quantity. It may simply be that we don’t need that much energy given how active we are across the week. In which case we can look at lower calorie foods that are still filling (we’ll come to that later).

3)    Why are you eating? Was it because of hunger, is there an emotional trigger or is it a habit/routine that has been developed over time and is just ‘the way it is’ at the moment. This helps us to develop solutions; these may be other things that can be done to cope with emotions, changes to the daily routine, or better snack options to choose, so let’s have a look at that now.

Better balance

This next section is based on options that are often better for most people with goals of improving their weight, reducing their body fat and generally improving their physical and mental health. That doesn’t mean that they’re right for everyone. You may have an allergy, the food may not easily be accessible to you or you may simply not like it. That’s ok; the key thing is just to get you thinking ‘what could I change?’ If you’re stuck answering this question, get in touch and I’ll happily offer some support and advice.

Here’s some snack ideas my clients have found useful over the years:

·      Portion things out - let’s start realistically. If you are going to have some chocolate, crisps or cake, can you take the one portion you have and break it into smaller bits so that you have it over time rather than in one go? Tupperware can be a great solution to this, or feel free to share it with others, as less is in this case, less. If you can’t bear to give it away, go back to the portioning idea.

·      Fruit and vegetables – most of us need more and this is a great time to get them. They’re packed full of good stuff to keep us healthy but also have a high fibre and water content that can help increase feelings of fullness too.

·      Carrot or celery sticks and houmous - staying with the veg theme, why chop them into little sticks and dip them in some houmous. This adds some healthy fats and more importantly, some protein, which is known to keep hunger locked up for longer.

·      Natural yoghurt – less calories than the flavoured sugary counterparts, a good source of calcium and vitamin D and some research to show it may help aid effective fat burning. Yoghurt is again a decent source of protein and you can keep it varied by adding different things to it; nuts and seeds, dried or fresh fruit, a little honey, grated dark chocolate or oats.

·      Boiled eggs – easy to prepare to take with you, boil them up the night before and then pop them in some Tupperware. They’re a complete protein, which means they contain all the amino acids your body needs and again they’re great at keeping hunger controlled for longer.

·      Dark chocolate (70% +) - Still high in calories so don’t go mad here, although you’ll find it hard to eat too much as it’s quite rich. This is a good choice for those who have a sweet tooth as it can curb the craving and it’s pretty rich in antioxidants that act to keep you healthy.

·      Unprocessed nuts or seeds – often avoided because of their high fat content, these should form part of a truly balanced diet. The fats are the healthier type and there’s protein too, as well as numerous vitamins and minerals. Portion control is important again though, as too many calories are too many calories. Portion big bags out into small Tupperware containers for each day.

·      Oatcakes, rye crackers or rice cakes – there’s a few reasons why these are helpful additions to your day. They’re fairly low calorie compared to less healthy choices and they’re a good source of fibre, strongly linked to increased feelings of fullness. Of course adding toppings is fine like oatcakes with a little peanut butter on top, but find a balance that works for you. If you’re not losing body fat and you know it’s definitely not because you’re under-eating, where can you make small and gradual reductions to your food intake?

·      Unprocessed meats – another food source rich in protein to help leave you feeling full and less likely to reach for the biscuit barrel. Only small quantities of meats are needed as they’re often high in fat and calories too and it’s easy to over-consume protein.

·      Protein shakes – whilst many don’t need to turn to supplements, for some life is busy and using a protein shake mixed with water or milk is an easier solution than preparing other foods. If it’s used instead of a Chunky KitKat there’s no arguing that it’s a better choice and those of you who exercise regularly may find it a great snack choice post-training to help your recovery in a quick, simple, easily digested way. You can of course, get a good quantity of protein from just drinking milk; so if sports shakes aren’t your thing and you’re not lactose intolerant, give it a try.

A bite-size summary

I hope you’ve found this little blog useful and if nothing else, it’s given you some ideas. I’ve been regularly snacking for years on some of the above foods and I find it works for me because I lead an active lifestyle and I know that if I let myself get hungry, that’s when I reach for worse choices. If you know this is the same for you or you’re just stuck in a rut of unhealthy snacks, try making one or two simple changes to help you find your way to balance.

Balanced BBQ recipes for summer

Summer is still very much here and you might want to make the most of it with a barbecue for family and friends. Everybody loves cooking outdoors so I thought I’d put together some simple, healthy, quick, tasty recipes for barbecues and eating outdoors. All you need do is choose your favourite, invite a few friends over, get the food and drinks in and light the coals.

There’s something quite magical about cooking over a real fire, as if somehow you’re transported back in time thousands of years to an era when you hunted, scavenged and prepared your food on a daily basis. I don’t suggest you go that far these days and I certainly wouldn’t recommend barbecues on a regular basis as the process of cooking over a flame can increase cancer-causing substances in the foods. I’d also recommend using good quality meat for your outdoor meals, as there’s plenty of evidence that the cheap stuff increases health risks in the long term too. If you buy good stuff and treat yourself occasionally (which is probably all you can do given the not so great British weather), a barbecue can be a really tasty treat. Be sure to cook your meats thoroughly to manage the risks of food poisoning.

Here are three recipes you can use to make your next barbecue a balanced one:

Balance Kebabs

When imagining a kebab, most people picture some almost unidentifiable meat purchased at 3am after a night out. In truth though they can be an incredibly healthy addition to your diet. The word kebab simply means food cooked on a skewer.

Vegetarian option – load up a skewer with chunks of halloumi, red onion, courgette, cherry tomatoes and mixed peppers.

For the carnivores – either replace the halloumi or simply add cuts of lamb or beefsteak.

Balance mushroom burgers

Cook two large flat mushrooms with their stems removed (Portobello work well) and a burger of your choice. I opt for venison but you can be traditional and use beef or go vege with a bean burger. Once cooked, place the burger between the two mushrooms and add iceberg lettuce, a slice of beef tomato, smoked cheese and a little brown sauce.

Super sides

Not everything you have at a barbecue needs to be cooked on the grill. Here are two healthy sides you can use to add flavour and variety to your gathering.

Falafel and couscous tabouleh

Add a little Mediterranean feel to your occasion with this Lebanese classic. These days you can easily buy falafel and houmous in lots of places so there’s no need to make your own. Simply follow this recipe and it’ll be ready in no time.

·      25g couscous per person

·      1 tablespoon of olive oil

·      1 lemon juiced

·      A few bunches of parsley and coriander

·      1 or 2 spring onions

·      2 beetroot

·      2 beef tomatoes

·      Half a cucumber

·      Black pepper

·      1-2 packets of falafel

·      Houmous (you can buy different flavours to give your guests a bit of variety)

Cook the couscous as per the packet instructions; normally it takes just a few minutes. Chop the onions, beetroot, tomatoes, cucumber and herbs and mix the couscous in once cooked. In a different bowl mix the lemon juice with a little black pepper and olive oil and then add the couscous mix. Cut the falafel into smaller pieces and mix in. Serve in a bowl and place the houmous separately in a small dish.

Sweet potato wedges

 I use this easy-to-prepare potato wedges recipe all of the time. They taste great served hot or cold, with a little slat and pepper or with a tzatziki dip.

Take one medium-sized sweet potato (white potatoes are in fact just as healthy so you can switch if you’d like). Cut it into wedges leaving the skin on, put in a pan and cover with water then bring to the boil.

Drain the potatoes and place back in the pan to season with sea salt, black pepper and 1 clove of grated garlic. Mix gently then, using an oil bottle with a spray nozzle, squirt a couple of sprays of oil onto a baking sheet. Place the wedges on the sheet; spray the top of them with a little more oil then pop in a hot oven and cook till brown. Mine usually take around 20 minutes in a fan-assisted oven at 180 degrees Celsius. 

If you liked these recipes you may enjoy A Week in Balance, my seven-day recipe plan for every meal of the day and snack ideas too. For just £2 you can get your copy here. Half of all proceeds goes to help Genetic Alliance UK in their work supporting people with rare conditions. 

A taste of summer

Glastonbury, Wimbledon, long evenings sat in the garden, all of these can only mean one thing, it’s mid-summer. To celebrate this here’s two simple, healthy, tasty, balanced desserts you can serve for the family or after a barbecue using the most quintessentially English fruit, the strawberry.

Strawberries are a great addition to a balanced diet because:

   They’re rich in vitamin C, with one cup providing your entire daily requirements

   They’re low Glycaemic Index and have been linked to better blood sugar regulation

   They contain a good source of dietary fibre

   Also found inside are numerous antioxidants, vitamin K, manganese, magnesium, iodine, folate, potassium, phosphorous and copper

   The richness of antioxidants means this little berry has been strongly linked to the prevention of both heart disease and a range of cancers

   They may even help to slow down the effects of ageing!

Natural Strawberry Yoghurt

Strawberries

Pumpkin or sunflower seeds

Halved walnuts

Honey

Plain natural yoghurt

1 square of dark chocolate

Slice as many strawberries as you desire (4-7 per person depending on size is normally enough) and mix in to the yoghurt with the walnuts and pumpkin seeds. Grate the dark chocolate on top and add a small spoon of honey.

The 60-Second Mini-Strawberry Cheesecake

Plain digestive biscuits

Chopped strawberries

Cream cheese or mascarpone

Natural yoghurt

Sliced almonds and mixed seeds

Honey (optional)

Roll or whack the digestive biscuit into small crumbs (you choose which but the latter is a fantastic choice for stress relief) and place into the bottom of a bowl or champagne flute. It tastes the same but the glass gives it a more arty appearance! J

Mix the cream cheese or mascarpone with a few spoons of yoghurt and if desired mix a little honey in for extra sweetness. Pour this mix on top of the biscuit base. Add the chopped strawberries, sliced almonds and mixed seeds to suit.

Fancy more recipes like this? Then download my new guide ‘A Week in Balance’, with seven days’ of breakfasts, snacks, lunches and dinners plus a home exercise routine to keep you fit, healthy and balanced. It’s only £2 with half going to charity, get your copy here: http://bit.ly/1GQEhRO

Surprisingly 'super' foods

These days the term ‘super-food’ is pretty common. You’ll hear it in relation to a berry only found growing high in the Himalayas, a bean that South American tribes have been cooking with for centuries, tribes where the average life expectancy is reported to be about 150, or a fruit that is reported to contain more Omega 3 than a school of mackerel and looks like it comes from outer space.

There’s likely nothing wrong with these foods of course, they’re fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds after all, but you’ll likely pay a fair price for them to be transported from the far reaches of the planet and packaged in recycled brown paper with pictures of snow-covered mountains and beautiful sunsets.

If you want some super foods, it is possible to look a little closer to home. There’s a range of fruit and vegetables cultivated in Britain and Europe that could easily be considered super, they just haven’t got the right agent! With a little marketing support they could easily be found in those articles in glossy magazines telling you the secret foods that Jennifer Aniston eats to stay looking so young and thin.

Here’s just a few of the foods that I’d promote from their standard 'non-league’ persona at present to stars of the 'Garden Premier League’.

1) Peas

With 40% of your daily vitamin K, a third of your manganese needs and 30% of your vitamin B requirements in just one cup of peas, I think super is a fair description. Add to this the discovery that coumestrol, a nutrient found in peas may protect against cancers and that saponins, antioxidants present in these delicious green pods could play a role in preventing and managing type 2 diabetes. Peas frozen straight from picking are easy to store, unbelievably simple to cook and they go with almost any evening meal.

2) Apples

An apple a day may actually help to keep the doctor away, or to quote the original 150-year old version of this rhyme:  

“Eat an apple on going to bed, and you’ll keep the doctor from earning his bread." 

Apples contain vitamins A, C and E and the nutrients quercetin and pectin. The former has been linked with everything from decreased risk of cancer to heart disease and Alzheimer’s, while the latter is a soluble fibre shown to lower blood pressure and blood sugar levels.

3) Potatoes

Those of you who have read my post sin recent times will know I’m a proud supporter of the humble spud. In many comparisons it beats its celebrity cosine the sweet potato and it’s so versatile, tasty and cheap that you’ll often find it in my trolley. Spuds have probably had bad press because they often get a makeover that results in them being transformed into a chip or a packet of crisps, but baked, boiled or mashed they’re a great addition to many classic meals and a good source of nutrition too.

4) Blackberries

The thing I really love about blackberries, apart from their nutritional content and their great taste, is that for a month every year you can pick enough of them to freeze and eat the whole year round. I’ve done this previously and it saves a couple of quid each week on my shopping. At this time of year you’ll need to buy them, but they’re worth it. The rich blue colour means you’ll find plenty of antioxidants inside with plenty of vitamins C and K to keep, amongst other things your immune system strong and blood working as it should.

5) Onions

Onions are rich in nutrients known as flavonoids, in fact pound for pound they contain more of these wonderful little things than most. They’re also high in sulphur which is essential for keeping bones, connective tissues and muscles healthy. They’re sooooo cheap and can be added to salads, stews, stir-frys and just about anything you can think of, with Michael Ruhiman describing them in his book 'The Elements of Cooking’ as 'perhaps even the most important ingredient.’ For use in stock, to add flavour, as a paste, or just to eat in their own right, add a few to your trolley and plates each week.

6) Oranges

Not that long ago, oranges, like bananas, were one of those foods considered a delicacy as they were shipped in from abroad. Getting one in your Christmas stocking was a real treat but nowadays they’ve lost out in their popularity stakes to foods equally rich in vitamin C but a little more exotic like kiwi. 

As well as vitamin C there’s a host of B-vitamins, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, selenium, copper, choline, zeaxanthin, and of course carotenoids or vitamin A that are found in red, orange and yellow foods. This wondrous combination of nutrients has been linked to better sleep, decreased risk of cancer, stroke, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and healthier skin. Not bad eh? Super some might say.

7) Rocket

This peppery little salad leaf has been shown to have medicinal properties in the treatment of stomach ulcers. These days it’s just considered a cheap addition to a side-salad, but it’s flavour and nutrient-rich content means it should get a bigger billing. Maybe if it used one of it’s alternative names like arugula or rucola it’d get better press? Like Prince or good old Reg Dwight, aka Elton John, a name change can make such a difference.

8) Carrots

A recent Dutch study suggested that orange-coloured fruit and vegetables appear to have the strongest protective effect against heart disease. Just one portion of carrots has your body’s daily recommendation for vitamin A sorted so maybe that’s one of the reasons. Try them steamed to keep in as many of the nutrients as possible and maintain their fresh taste at the same time.

9) Mint

From experience I can say that mint is without doubt the easiest herb to grow. In fact it’s the hardest one to stop growing! Keep it in pots so that your garden doesn’t suffer from a remake of that famous B-movie 'Attack of the Mentha’ (that’s its posh Latin gardening name). Used in everything from teas to gum, soups to toothpastes, it is a great addition to peas (see number 1) or as a herb to flavour meats like lamb. Through history it has been used to soothe the stomach, to freshen breath and as an anti-bacterial agent.

10) Strawberries

OK so you may class strawberries as belonging to the 'super foods’ generation but as they’re grown in the UK and are easy to get hold of, I’ve popped them in my list too. Rich in vitamin C they have a protective effect on the immune system and have been linked with protection against cancer, eye health, lowering cholesterol, weight management due to their fibre content and even preventing wrinkles! 

How much is all this going to set you back? Well, I’ve popped onto Tesco online and priced up these 10 items compared to 10 traditional super-foods. Here are the results:

Peas £0.98 for 1kg frozen vs Mangetout £1.40 for 215g

Apples £0.79 for 5 Braeburn vs Avocados £1.75 4-pack ripen at home

Potatoes £1.75 for 2.5kg of white potatoes vs Sweet potatoes £3.00 for 2.5kg 

Blackberries £2.00 for 150g vs Blueberries £2.00 for 150g

Onions £0.16 each vs Leeks £0.44 each

Oranges £0.30 each vs Pineapple £1.50 for a large size

Rocket £1.00 for 1 bag vs Asparagus £1.65 for a bunch

Carrots £0.60 for 1kg vs Beetroot £1.00 for 300g cooked

Mint £0.70 for 30g vs £0.70 for 2 lime grass stems 

Strawberries £2.00 for 400g vs Goji berries £3.20 for 200g

With a mocked up shopping list and a quick bit of maths I reckon I could easily save about £11 every shop by choosing the everyday foods over the more exotic 'super-foods’. As I said previously the more expensive foods are good for us too, we just don’t have to spend a fortune to get a whole host of nutrients and keep us healthy. 

Maybe a nice balance of both is a good idea?

Stay healthy,

Paul

Why should your diet be like a Christmas candle?

It seems an odd combination doesn’t it; what could a candle and eating to lose weight possibly have in common. Well the answer is that to work effectively they both need the same three things.

For a candle to burn it needs:

1) Wax

2) A wick

3) A flame

The wax is the source of energy for the candle. It is the wax that when heated up begins to melt, but it can’t work on its own. The wick is essential too; as the wax of the candle melts, the liquid wax is drawn up the wick. As it does so it becomes increasingly hotter until it turns into a gas. It is this gas that is ignited by the flame and keeps it burning brightly, in turn generating more heat and melting more wax from the candle beneath.

The wick plays a vital role in keeping the melted wax in the flame long enough to turn into a gas and allow it to burn. Without the wick, heated wax would simply melt but no flame would be created and as such the wax would not vaporise (become gas). As such at the end you’d juts be left with the same amount of wax but it wouldn’t look as pretty any more.

The final piece of the jigsaw of course was the initial spark, the flame that set the wick alight and began the process. Without this the candle obviously can’t burn.

All well and good you say, but what’s this got to do with my diet? Well, in recent years there’s been a trend towards low carbohydrate diets. Why is this? Well, according to some, carbs cause diabetes, they make you fat and you don’t need them to burn fat.

However, if you take the analogy of our little Christmas Candle, you’ll see that this isn’t right at all. To burn body fat you need three things:

1) Some body fat to burn (the wax)

2) Some carbohydrates (the wick)

3) Movement (the flame)

Much like the candle, your body’s biggest energy source is its fat. In fact, even the leanest individuals store plenty of energy as fat. If we take an average, fairly ‘elfy’ individual as an example:

Buddy weighs 80 kilo’s and his body fat percentage is 20 per cent. This means that 16 kilo’s of buddy are fat, or 35 pounds. 

Knowing that a pound of fat is equivalent to around 3,500 calories, that means Buddy has around 123,200 calories of energy to draw on when needed from fat. That’s enough in theory to run around 50 marathons!

So we’ve established that we’ve got energy to burn. Now let’s see how carbohydrate is involved, time for a little trip to the chemistry lab.

When glucose is broken down, a substance known as pyruvate is produced. This in turn creates  oxaloacetate, which is a vital substance in the process of fat breakdown. If carbohydrate levels are low, less pyruvate is produced, so less oxaloacetate is produced, and therefore less fat is broken down, or rather fat is broken down inefficiently. In simple terms, remove the carbohydrates and you remove the wick that allows the fat to burn.

Finally of course, you need a spark to create the flame, ignite the wick and begin the process. This is exercise or movement. The more you move the higher your metabolism, meaning your flame burns brighter. 

So if you want to burn your wax, sorry body fat, effectively, be sure to keep some healthy carbohydrates in your diet. Examples might be whole grain rice, pasta or bread, quinoa, couscous, bulgar wheat and fruit and vegetables. And of course remember to move, aim for 30 minutes exercise every day and your flame will burn brightly.

Merry Christmas everyone,

Paul

From white stuff to right stuff: Five alternatives to sugar

Weaved throughout many of the ‘Ten Steps to a Balanced Diet’ is the importance of decreasing sugar intake. Sugar is a highly refined substance and as you already know, foods high in sugar will contain a lot of calories and soon leave us feeling hungry again and ready for more. 

In its highly processed state it offers few if any health benefits, and over time excess sugar intake can lead to weight gain, diabetes and tooth decay so we’re all told we should reduce how much we consume. Trouble is, that’s not always as easy as it sounds. Here I honestly review a few sugar alternatives that you could consider using to wean yourself off the white stuff, looking at the benefits and drawbacks of each.

Honey

Made by bees using nectar from flowers, honey has been used by various empires through the ages, including the Greeks and Romans. 

The good: Rich in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, there’s certainly more goodness in honey than in refined sugar. It’s been shown to contain iron, calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium which all keep your body functioning optimally. 

Over the years it’s been proposed that it might treat wounds and infections, control allergies and manage gastrointestinal problems, although these claims need a lot more research to prove one way or the other. It has been shown in one study to ease night-time coughing in those with colds.

Drawbacks: Manuka honey is often purchased by people in an attempt to alleviate their latest bout of cold/flu. Whilst it may work as an antibacterial treatment for wounds, it’s cold-fighting properties are not yet proven, nor are the other claims made about it lowering cholesterol, treating diabetes and even cancer.

In fact, honey is around 80% sugar, half of it fructose, meaning whilst it’s probably slightly better than sugar, go easy on how much you use or you’ll be adding calories and increasing your insulin levels just as you would with refined sugar.

Panela

Pa what I hear you say? Panela….what’s that? Well it’s unrefined cane sugar, or certainly less refined than sugar. When sugarcane is cut down, it is boiled and the sap oozes out. This sap is then further refined to produce sugar, but Panela is just hardened blocks of this sap.

The good: As it is produced from the juice of the cane plant, it’s been shown to contain all of the vitamins and minerals found in the plant; everything form vitamin A to zinc, with plenty in between including calcium, copper, vitamins C and D, iron, potassium and polyphenols. It scores very highly on its levels of antioxidants too.

I use it myself, grating it into porridge to add some sweetness. It tastes good and a block lasts me a long time.

Drawbacks: It’s still over 70% sucrose, so the usual advice to consume it in moderation applies.

Carob

Carob is produced form the pods of the carob tree, found in the Middle East. They are ground and roasted to produce a chocolate-like substance.

The good: It is lower fat than cocoa powder, half as much in fact. It is also caffeine free, in fact it has no stimulants at all yet it still tastes like chocolate.

You can find it in 9bars or use it to make these very tasty cookies suitable for vegans.

Drawbacks: Yep, you guessed it. It’s still high in sugars and therefore calories too.

Maple syrup

A completely natural substance made from the sap of that maple tree, synonymous with Canada of course where the majority is produced.

The good: Another rich source of nutrients - magnesium, zinc, manganese and zinc to name a few. It’s also rich in phenols, powerful antioxidants more usually associated with grapes and berries, and wine by those who need to justify their slightly elevated intake! :-)

Drawbacks: Groundhog Day!! High in sugar and calories, say no more.

Dried fruit

Ok so you know what this is. There are lots of different types of course; apricots, figs, dates, prunes, raisins and sultanas, pineapple and many more.

The good: Dried fruits are actually higher in fibre than fresh alternatives and fibre is essential in the diet to keep your digestive system healthy, fill you up and keep cholesterol levels low. Some dried fruits seem to be higher in nutrients than their freshly picked counterparts too, check out this interesting article on the Livestrong website to find out more.

The drawbacks: Dried fruit has lost all of its water and so may have a higher sugar content and higher glycaemic index. They’ve also been shown to have a laxative effect in some people so eating them before a run is not advised!

In summary, all of these may offer a little more nutritional benefit than plain old refined sugar, but as the first and arguably most important step of the balance 'ten steps to a healthy diet’ says, go easy on the quantity. As the old saying goes:

                           'Everything in moderation’

Or to put it another way, you need to find your balance. :-)

Detox.......debunked

I’ve been asked to put this blog piece together by a good friend of mine Emma. She’s a very good runner who works in an office and regularly sees colleagues go on juice detox diets, losing a substantial amount of weight in a short space of time, only to put it all back on again and more in the following weeks.

She’s not alone in being frustrated by the ‘detox’ industry. There are numerous detox diets out there that claim to guarantee weight loss, rid your body of harmful toxins, revitalise you and improve your health. They vary in their structure but generally advocate the complete removal of unhealthy foods from the diet alongside a large increase in water, fruit and vegetables whilst at the same time cutting calories quite dramatically. So what is the truth behind all of this?

The evidence 

Well, in reality, there’s a very limited amount of data on the benefits of a detox diet. Searching through the journals I came across one study from 2012 that asked 31 volunteers to go on a 4-week detox plan. At the end of the period the participants had lost an average of 9 pounds each, which in fairness is not far above the recommended guidelines of 2 pounds per week.

So what’s the issue here you might ask? It works doesn’t it? Well yes, but it most likely worked because participants consumed between 850 and 1000 calories per day. There was likely no miracle detoxification process going on inside the body; it was simply a reduction in calories. And as you’ll know if you’ve read my previous pieces, decreasing calories below what your body needs to function normally will:

1) Lead to rapid decreases in weight loss as your energy stores and the water that binds to them are used up.

2) Leave your body with too little energy for what it needs, forcing it to go into a kind of 'starvation mode’.

3) Make you very hungry and likely to crave foods in the long term that are less healthy and will lead to weight gain above the point where you started.

4) Possibly cause your body to turn to itself to provide energy. This can lead to a decrease in muscle mass, lowering your overall metabolic rate and making it even harder to lose weight and keep it off in future.

Let’s take a balanced look at detox diets in general then and see what we can learn and use from them.

What’s good and bad about detox?

1) It encourages an increase in water intake. This is not a bad thing for most of us. Water is essential to make our bodies work properly and many don’t get enough. It’s all about balance though; too much water can also be harmful so stick to the sensible guidelines of 1.5-2 litres per day alongside a healthy diet, increasing of course if you exercise a lot or live in a warm environment (not the UK)!

2) It emphasises the need for fruit and vegetables. We all know they’re packed full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants so getting our 5-a-day or possibly even slightly more is going to help keep us healthy. Again though, too much can be a bad thing; raw food diets and too much sugar from large amounts of fruit can cause health problems. Emphasise vegetables over fruit and be sensible on the quantities.

3) It helps us to minimise processed foods. Of course, detox diets will demonise things that come in packages, telling you they’re the reason the world is in the state it’s in. They’ll also tell you that we are all allergic to these foods, but whilst some can be, this 'fact’ is certainly yet to be ascertained by science. So whilst there’s some truth to this, there’s room for a more balanced approach. If cutting processed foods completely is what you feel you need to do to lose weight and get healthy, then there is nothing wrong with that. As long as you get enough calories and of course can sustain your new eating routine in the long run, go for it. For many though this is seen as too extreme, and so after a short spell avoiding certain aisles in the supermarket and hiding behind a pillow when that chocolate advert comes on, they give in to temptation and binge, hiding the evidence by putting the wrappers in next door’s wheelie bin. If this is you, then find a middle ground, choosing the more processed foods as occasional treats to be enjoyed instead of making yourself feel like you’ve committed some sort of crime just by peeling open the packaging.

4) It prays on our weaknesses. Yes it took us five years to gain that weight steadily, but we can get rid of it all in just four weeks, can’t we? Well, sadly no we can’t. The old saying 'slow and steady wins the race’ applies to weight loss more than almost anything else. To avoid impacting the functioning of your body, you need to fuel it right. Over time it can then start to bring itself back into balance, decreasing weight and improving health. I’ve borrowed a few quotes here from a very good article I found online by Kathleen Zelman, director of nutrition for WebMD. She spoke to some nutrition experts and here’s what Connie Diekman, a registered dietician said.

“Detox diets prey on the vulnerability of dieters with fear tactics while gaining financially by selling products that are not necessary and potentially dangerous.”

5) There’s an over-reliance on juicing. If using lots of fruits, the sugar content here can actually be very high. Recent studies have suggested that consuming too much fruit juice regularly may be as harmful as using fizzy drinks. Some do emphasise vegetables instead which do have a lower sugar content.

6) It implies that we need to drastically change the way we eat and drink regularly to 'detoxify’ our systems. This is a myth. Our bodies are designed to detoxify themselves on a daily basis, as Frank Sacks from Harvard Medical School points out.

“Your body is designed to remove toxins efficiently, with organs such as the kidneys, liver and colon. You don’t need detox diets, pills, or potions to help your body do its job.”

What are the alternatives?

You can take some of the principles of the detox diets and apply them to a more balanced approach. In fact, you’ll find them all in the balance weight loss 'ten steps to a balanced diet’.

1) Drink plenty of fluids; water, milk, a little diluted fruit juice and even sensible amounts of tea and coffee (the caffeine content in a few cups will not kill you, in fact there’s quite a few antioxidants in there).

2) Get your 5-a-day, 7 if you can. Emphasise vegetables and berries with some other fruits, making sure to vary them regularly and get a wide range of colours.

3) Use whole grains; apart from the small amount of people who are truly wheat allergic, using whole grains alongside fruit and vegetables will give you adequate fibre to help you remove waste products (your body detoxing itself again). Vary the grains used to get the most nutrients; wild rice, spelt, rye, oats, barley, couscous and quinoa can all add taste to your diet as well as giving you the energy you need to function.

4) Limit processed foods, fizzy drinks and alcohol. We all know it; we know what’s really healthy and what we shouldn’t eat as much. All you need to do is work out how; it might mean choosing certain days for treats, limiting the number per week, not putting them in your shopping basket, avoiding times and places where you consume them, coming up with alternative foods and drinks to eat instead. It doesn’t matter what you do as long as it’s sustainable and it works for you.

There’s one other advantage to all of this of course; your blender should last longer! ;-)

Start finding your balance today.

Paul :-)

Super foods: fact or fiction?

You can’t have failed to escape the press coverage over the last few years about ‘super foods’ and all of the good things that they contain. The idea is simple; these foods are supposedly healthier than their counterparts because they contain high levels of a wide variety of substances, including:

    •   Vitamins

    •   Minerals

    •   Isoflavones and flavonoids

    •   Phytoestrogens

    •   Polyphenols

    •   Antioxidants

You’re probably thinking, they all sound very fancy, but what are they and what do they do for me? Well, without getting too complicated, here’s a brief description of each and their importance.

Vitamins

These are a diverse range of organic compounds that the body needs to get from diet to be able to work properly. They help your body do everything from grow and repair to producing energy and boosting your defences against disease.

Minerals

These are different to vitamins as they are inorganic, that is they have never been alive. The body still needs them to function and stay healthy though. They are always solids and made up a range of chemical elements. Sodium and potassium are examples of minerals, and roles include maintaining fluid balance in your body, ensuring your heart pumps effectively and building strong bones and teeth.

Isoflavones, flavonoids phytoestrogens and polyphenols

A range of compounds that you get from things that were alive, namely plants and animals, the latter containing them because they have eaten plants. These compounds have a lot in common with vitamins; in fact flavonoids up until the 1950s were often referred to as vitamin P. Today you’d probably only use that term in relation to the colour of your wee when you've taken your effervescent vitamin c tablets! 

Collectively, any nutrient that comes from a plant is called a phytonutrient.

Antioxidants

Have you ever watched Star Wars? It's the classic battle of good versus evil, light versus dark. Inside your body there’s an interstellar war going on every day to keep you in balance. An army of Antioxidants, think of them as Jedi Knights, defend you against Free Radicals, or Darth Vader’s army, hell bent on destruction. 

As you know, your body needs oxygen to survive, that’s why we have to breathe to live. Unfortunately, oxygen is a highly reactive substance. We know this as we can see the effects it has on cars and boats over the years. As they are exposed to air and water, they begin to rust, and there is a process that occurs in your body every day known as oxidation, which is effectively internal rusting. It is one of the things that causes you to age.

This process occurs as a result of using oxygen to produce energy for life. As a consequence, free radicals are produced. These are atoms that have effectively lost an electron and as a consequence go a little bit haywire, or to use our earlier analogy, have gone over to the dark side. They search around the body looking for another electron to get back into balance and back to the light. In their efforts though they can leave behind a path of destruction.

Your antioxidant defence system come armed with spare electrons, which they donate to any free radicals that they meet, turning them back into stable atoms that function normally. Remember when Darth Vader becomes good again in Return of the Jedi? This happens in your body every day, as long as you have the right amount of antioxidants available to defend you. And this is where the notion of 'super foods' comes from, with some things that you can find on the supermarket shelves containing a wide range of these healthy substances.

It certainly cannot be argued that some foods contain a massive amount of these health-promoting goodies and it is worth having them in your diet. The truth is though that your body needs a wide range of these nutrients to function at its best; as with everything it’s about balance. You can eat tonnes of blueberries, knowing that they’re packed full of antioxidants, but if this is all you eat you won’t be getting many of the other substances that you need. Instead of thinking about super foods, focus instead on Super Diets, consuming a wide range of plant substances to give your body everything it could possibly need to stay healthy, grow and function at its best. Remember here that the word diet simply means the foods that you eat; it has absolutely nothing to do with restricting foods or calories.

How are super foods measured?

One helpful measurement is the ORAC value of a food, or the Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity. This tells you how many free radicals a food can turn back from the dark side, stabilising them and decreasing the risk of damage to your body. So which food is the Yoda or Luke Skywalker of your diet? Learn about the ORAC values of different foods here.

Below I’ve provided you with ten foods that can contribute effectively towards a Super Diet. You’ll notice that there a wide range of colours on show here and a great little rule to remember is the 'Rainbow Rule’, ensuring that your shopping trolley always contains foods that are a wide range of colours. Sorry to disappoint you here, but Skittles don’t count!

Image courtesy of Kangshutters/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

1) Broccoli

Extremely rich in vitamin C, as well as good amounts of vitamin A, B6 and calcium. All dark green vegetables are a superb source of folic acid too, particularly essential for women during pregnancy

Perfect with stir-fries or traditional roast dinners

2) Blueberries

Rich in flavonoids called anthocyanins, blueberries have been shown to be   effective in reducing blood pressure and managing blood sugars to help control diabetes

Perfect as a healthy snack or in yoghurts or porridge

3) Tomatoes

High in levels of lycopene, an antioxidant that has been strongly linked with cancer prevention. Also a good source of vitamin C

A food that pretty much goes with anything, from salads to sandwiches, or even roasted and served with fish

4) Kale

Just 50 grams will give you your daily requirements of vitamin A and C, helping with your immune system, eye health and a host of other benefits

Perfect steamed with meat or fish, or as part of a warm casserole on a cold night

5) Ground cloves

Spices and herbs are packed full of antioxidants, in fact they contain more than any other food on earth. Cloves are particularly rich in manganese, a mineral important for healthy bones and skin

Perfect in game  recipes, try one of these instead of the usual Sunday roast.

6) Dark chocolate

The cocoa, or cacao plant is packed full of antioxidants and linked to heart health, blood sugar control and brain function

Opt for 70% dark chocolate and have one or two squares as a snack

7) Raspberries

Another food that provides lots of vitamin C and manganese, they are also rich in fibre for bowel health

Mix into a salad with sunflower seeds to add extra flavour, or add to porridge for additional sweetness

8) Raw ginger

Another spice packed with a massively high ORAC score, reported to help with digestive health and as an anti-inflammatory

Add one or two slices of raw ginger to hot water with lemon and honey

9) Walnuts

Rich in Omega-3 fats that are vital for energy production, brain health and in preventing inflammation

Mix with berries and take to work in small Tupperwear pots for mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks

10) Turmeric

A rich yellow-orange spice related to Ginger, rich in curcumin, an antioxidant linked to relief from stomach problems and arthritis

A great addition to curries to add vibrant colour and flavour

Hopefully this has given you some thoughts and ideas about what to put in your shopping basket next time you’re in the supermarket. Remember the rainbow rule and you’ll go a long way towards boosting your health. Also bear in mind that a healthy body is much better to able to process energy, build lean muscle to boost metabolism, and remove waste.

Focus on a healthy diet and a healthy weight is far more likely.

Balance your life, balance your scales

Paul

PS, if you’re keen to know more you can now follow me on Twitter @paulw_fitness 

balance on…..Brussels Sprouts

Love them or loathe them, there’s no denying that Brussels Sprouts are an incredibly healthy addition to any plate. At balance, we’re determined to get them on the dinner plates of Great Britain in less than two weeks’ time, and also controversially, on days other than Christmas Day!

So why do we want to ‘shout about the sprout’? There are so many reasons!

Image courtesy of -Marcus- at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

1) They may prevent against cancer.

Sprouts contain Glucosinolates, organic compounds containing sulphur and nitrogen which may offer protection against carcinogens, those substances that cause cancers. It appears they may be particularly effective in protecting the organs in the body but more research is being carried out to find out why. All of the Brassica vegetables, broccoli, cabbage and sprouts convey these benefits so be kind to the sprout and don’t leave it out.

2) They lower cholesterol.

Because they are high in fibre they are an excellent foodstuff for controlling cholesterol levels in the body. Given that Christmas tends to bring with it a lot of substances that do the opposite like alcohol, cake, milk chocolate etc, the sprout is definitely worth adding to those Christmas dinners.

3) They’re anti-inflammatory.

Sprouts contain Omega-3 and other specialist Glucosinolates that help decrease inflammation in the blood vessels, whilst other research has shown that they may even protect our DNA from damage. All this means in the long-run they may form part of a great team of foods that’ll help you to enjoy even more Christmas dinners!

4) Special K.

Sprouts are rich in Vitamin K which has numerous important roles in the body, helping blood to clot properly when required, looking after bones and acting as a strong antioxidant.

5) They taste great!

If you’re not a fan of the sprout on his own, then get inventive this Christmas. Steam enough sprouts for a handful per person, chop them finely and add them into a pan with your choice of chopped walnuts, roast chestnuts, cubed pancetta or bacon, and even grapes or slices of satsuma orange. Cook in a little bit of butter or duck fat to get the pancetta nice and crispy and then serve with your Christmas dinner and for the rest of the winter.

Hopefully we’ve persuaded you that this little green fellow is worth adding to your shopping basket, so we’d politely ask you to:

SHOUT ABOUT THE SPROUT!!!

balance on keenwaaaaaaaah

Whether you pronounce it properly (keen-wah) or the less posh way (quin-oh-ah), it’s still worth adding this food to your trolley next time you’re in the supermarket and having it in your cupboard as a healthy ingredient to add to main meals and lunches.

What is it?

Whilst many think that it’s a grain, it’s not actually a member of the cereal family, sharing more in common with beetroot and spinach.

It’s actually a Chenopod! Sounds like a Doctor Who villain but it’s just a subspecies of flowering plant. It originated in South America and has been consumed in places like Peru for thousands of years. After the bitter coating is removed, the quinoa seeds can be used just as rice would be as an accompaniment to a variety of dishes.

Up until a few years ago it wasn’t a particularly common or popular choice on a British dinner plate and you’d be scouring the shelves of only the healthiest of health food shops to find it. These days you’ll find it in most supermarkets, certainly Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose do a good range. It’s not the cheapest but it does pack a fair load of health benefits to make it worth the money. Even good old Ainsley Harriott has it in some of his ready to cook packet foods!

A healthy grain???

Like we said, it’s not really a grain like some wheat products are, so if you’re worried about wheat or gluten content as many are these days, you needn’t be. We’ll leave that debate for another blog; instead let’s play Health Top Trumps with our lovely little Chenopod and find out what’s in it:

• It packs in all of the essential amino acids. These are the building blocks of protein in the body, and the essential ones are those that must be consumed in the diet as the body cannot produce them. One such essential amino acid is lysine, which quinoa carries in abundance. An important factor in a healthy immune system and for muscle repair, lysine may also contribute to blood pressure regulation, decreased risk of stroke and possibly even help protect against some cancers.

• It’s abundant with a range of minerals needed to keep the body functioning at it’s best, including calcium, phosphorous, iron and magnesium.

• It’s high in fibre, which as a well-known brand of cereals once said, ‘keeps hunger locked up 'til lunch!’ We’re pretty confident this is a healthier choice, although we don’t expect you to have it for breakfast with some milk and a cup of tea!!

• Keeps you fighting fit with phytonutrients - as you know we’re big on plant foods here at balance and with high levels of quercetin and kaempferol, quinoa has a range of substances within that help fight inflammation in the body.

• Good fats - surprisingly there’s a reasonable amount of our good friend Omega 3 in here too in the form of alpha-linolenic acid, as well as being high in another health fat, oleic acid. OK so it’s not quite oily fish but it can contribute towards a healthier diet.

Check out these recipes online for some ideas on how to add a little quinoa into your diet:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/quinoa

http://www.cookinglight.com/food/recipe-finder/cooking-with-quinoa-00412000073996/

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/quick-recipes/dinner/healthy-quinoa-recipes/

Love and hugs,

balance

think, eat, live, move

Eerie Scary Pumpkin Curry

The pumpkin, symbol of Halloween or ‘All Hallows Eve’, it is most often found on a windowsill these days, candle lighting the spooky shapes carved into it for the annual celebrations.

But it’s also a delicious, healthy vegetable and surprisingly versatile, tasting great in soups, pasta bakes, curries and GHOULash! High in vitamin A, (beta-carotene) and other antioxidants and containing seeds packed full of zinc, it’s an awesome addition to the Autumn menu.

Try our recipe below and warm yourself after a cold night trick or treating!

Ingredients (serves 2)

200g cubed pumpkin

1 large carrot

1 large red onion

200g green lentils

1 jar balti sauce

100g frozen peas

Heat some butter in a pan. Chop the carrot and onion and add them to the pan on a low heat for around 3-5 minutes until they have softened.

Chop the pumpkin into cubes (remembering first to carve the balance logo into the pumpkin before dicing)! Cover the pan and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Stir in the jar of balti sauce and cook for another minute before adding the lentils in their juices. Place the lid back on top and cook on a low heat for around 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the peas and cook for another couple of minutes.

Serve with pumpkin seed bread.

Spine-chillngly good!

Here you can see the spirit of the pumpkin rising out of the curry. Proof that there is an afterlife in the vegetable world!